Barely a month after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that his government will not tolerate religious conversions in the State, the Mapusa police swooped down on a leader of a Christian denomination based in Sodiem-Siolim and his associates, and arrested them on charges of illegal religious conversion and provoking religious sentiments. They were booked under Sections 153A, 295-A, 506 (ii) R/w 34, IPC, Sections 3, 4 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act 1954, arrested, and subsequently granted bail.
An arrest on charges of forced conversions is indeed surprising in Goa whose people have always upheld religious harmony and mutually respected all faiths. That the government was planning to go after religious groups was obvious ever since Sawant made an isolated statement on acting against religious conversions indicating what is to follow. The irony is that the police machinery has diligently played to its master’s tune and proceeded with arrest knowing well that the case will not hold the scrutiny of the courts.
We live in a State that has always been a benchmark of religious harmony and tolerance. Goa is and has been a multi-religious State with Hindus, Catholics, Muslims and other religions and their denominations co-existing peacefully. Nowhere in Goa has one heard of forced religious conversions because here people are driven purely by faith. The forced conversion theory remains a myth in Goa by far, rather it is seen as a concept that has a refined political agenda to polarise and gain an electoral advantage. Goa appears to be part of a larger plot, and with this arrest, the government has made a small beginning and sent out a warning. We see how desperately certain States have begun to bring in anti-conversion laws even via the ordinance route.
Now that the ball is set rolling in Goa, we may ask a few questions: Why did this question of forced conversion not surface when groups of several Christian denominations have been preaching for more than two decades now? Why is the government not listening to the thousands of people across all faiths and religions giving testimonies and narrating their spiritual journeys and life experiences? And finally, why is religion being dictated by the political class instead of religious heads?
We live in a democracy that guarantees every citizen their fundamental freedom to choose or change religion. People flocking to preaching centres and ministries go there out of one’s choice, not out of compulsion or coercion. One cannot fathom the argument raised in the complaint that there was a provocation and inducement to convert, and rightly so, it did not stand the scrutiny of the court that granted bail.
Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code deals with the offence of promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion. And Section 295A deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs. If the State government is genuinely interested in preserving communal harmony and stopping religious hatred it has to arrest the few who have put malicious videos in the public domain in complete violation of the above two sections.
Communal narratives may win elections, but not the hearts and confidence of the people. We hope Goa does not end up with uncontrollable communal flare-ups like the ones seen in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Let unity and peace prevail.
